ENGENDERING STEM Project Across the European Union there is a widening skills and employment gap in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sector. However, female participation in the labour market is consistently low across the region. In order to develop a skilled STEM workforce to meet industrial demands, it is necessary to increase and engage the female population by overcoming perceived and/or realised barriers to entry. A key aspect of achieving this involves empowering employers and educators to make positive changes to their workplace environments and practices with a view to creating a more inclusive and attractive sector. The aim of the ENGENDERING STEM project was to identify the factors that distinguish between small to medium sized (SMEs) STEM employers that have embraced equality and diversity in the workplace and those who have not. Specifically, the project aimed to identify the interventional strategies that have proven to be most effective for improving gender equality in organisations at various stages of engagement. In order to achieve this, we developed a Self-Assessment Toolkit and best practice guides for increasing gender equality engagement that then led to the development and delivery of a bespoke blended learning training programme. The project aimed to positively impact on the flow of female recruits into (and through) the STEM sector pipeline, with a focus on SMEs, and to support unbiased recruitment and retention processes to be mainstreamed into employment and education sectors. It also provided educational resources for participants to improve their awareness and understandings of key issues through engagement in relevant, specific programmes with currency within the sector. This approach was proposed in response to an established need for low or no cost flexible educational content. In order to address these key issues the project delivered three key outputs: • Publication of Gender Equality Research and Associated Best Practice Guides • Online Self-Assessment Gender Equality Diagnostic Toolkit • Blended Learning Training Programme Application of these outputs led to the realisation of the project objectives: 1. Improved stakeholder knowledge and awareness of gender equality issues within the STEM sector by enrolling 1,191 participants onto a bespoke training programme. 2. Engaged 2,587 stakeholders in web based activity over the lifespan of the project including website access, social media interactions, engagement with best practice guides and other project outputs. 3. Supported 56 SME employers in using the Gender Equality Self-Assessment Diagnostic Toolkit to assess their progress with respect to recruitment, retention and advancement policies and practice, and produce a bespoke assessment report that is tailored to their individual needs.The 4th objective: 4. To increase the average number of females recruited by participating employers by 10% (relative to baseline) by the end of the project.This proved difficult to measure but 47% of the participating employers increased the number of women in their organisaions. The project partners were City of Glasgow College (Scotland), VHTO (Netherlands), Miguel Altuna Instituta (Spain) and EQUATE Scotland (Scotland). All project partners were chosen in response to a demonstrated track record of promoting gender equality within the STEM and associated sectors as well as experience of working in large externally funded collaborative projects. Participants were primarily drawn from the employer networks of participating organisations although additional employers were engaged by the project team throughout the lifespan of the project. Additional participants included educators, policy makers, employer representatives, third sector and charitable workers and young people. Aspiring and current female STEM professionals are considered indirect participants as they will benefit from improved workplace practices as a result of employer and educator engagement with the project. The ENGENDERING STEM project aligned to the horizontal priorities; • Social inclusion; and • Open and innovative practices in a digital era It also mapped to a range of supporting EU policies, frameworks and agendas including Europe 2020, ET 2020, Erasmus+, Riga Conclusions, Yerevan Communiqué, EU Skills Agenda and a number of local education and labour market policies and strategies. The longer term sustainability of the project will be ensured through the development of employer/educator/research networks and integration of project outputs into project partners core functions.